Opinions re. Sound of Waldorf Largo

[Gadget Fiend]

The Waldorf MicroWave I is my all time favorite synth (analog or digital). It just sounds so unique and musical. I also love my MicroWave II for its terrific DSP filters and more edgy, digital sound. Given my love for the MicroWave series of instruments, I have been tempted to buy a new MicroWave M. But at $2.700 and relatively large form factor, it's a tougher sell.

So I thought, I should really give Waldorf Largo, the software version of the Blofeld, a closer look. I had purchased Largo on an odd sale from Native Instruments for $79. I immediately hated Largo after listening to only a few patches. And so I shelved it away for the last 10 years or so.

With my renewed interest in classic MicoWave synths, I re-installed Largo this past weekend and really put it through its paces. Not only did I listen to all the factory patches but also programmed a number of complex, atmospheric patches of my own. Everything sound dreadful. To my ears, my own patches sounded much better than the factory Largo presets. But they were still pretty thin and grating no matter what programming trick I used.

So my advice to anyone looking for that classic Waldorf wavetable sound would be to get an M (or a used MicroWave I with a hardware programmer). Unfortunately, if my tests are any indication, you won't find that classic MicroWave sound in software (as someone who also owns Nave and PPG 3.V).

[AcrossTheSky]

What I'm curious about is : when using Blofeld with headphones there is a very slight hum, noise heard. The louder the volume the louder the noise...Not completely silent. In comparison when using virus polar there's no sound/noise when using headphones. Have I got a faulty Blofeld?
Or is it normal for some synths to make such a noise..it can be heard on powered monitor speakers too...

[D-Fusion]

Have you tried the MW 1 Factory Bank?
https://gearspace.com/board/electronic- ... largo.html

[Gadget Fiend]

What I'm curious about is : when using Blofeld with headphones there is a very slight hum, noise heard. The louder the volume the louder the noise...Not completely silent. In comparison when using virus polar there's no sound/noise when using headphones. Have I got a faulty Blofeld?
Or is it normal for some synths to make such a noise..it can be heard on powered monitor speakers too...

I can only speak to Largo. There is no background noise / noise floor compared to my other plugins. Likewise, I can't hear any discernable background noise coming from my Virus TI2 compared to my other synths.

[sqigls]

I remember sitting in Awave in Melbourne for about 20-30 mins, tweaking the Blofeld when it was released.
it had potential, but the factory patches we all utter shite. I remember thinking "it just sounds like a plugin".
So I bought Albino 2 instead

[e@rs]

A few weeks ago I made a deal with a (nice) guy and eventually we talked synths and he thought Blofeld's sound was phat and ballsy, unlike software synths.

@OP: Cool story, bro!

[christian f.]

I think Blofeld is quite good.
It's different than the Hybrids with analog filter and it's different than the MW II/XT, but it's still very Waldorf and I made lots of good music with it. Far from Awful !

[Gadget Fiend]

Have you tried the MW 1 Factory Bank?
https://gearspace.com/board/electronic- ... largo.html

Nice, thanks for the heads up! These patches are SO much better than the factory Largo presets (and the ones I had programmed). My purchase of Largo for $79 is worth it just so I can make use of these patches. That said, they are still no replacement for the hardware synth which is a lot more vibrant and dynamic sounding.

[kobal]

do you like the Q ? i like more the microwave series and Xt , largo and blofeld are more similar to the Q i think .
i just own largo but i like it as it dosen t sound like my others wavetable plugins it has a more distinctive sound

if you judge synth with presets you proably rate sound designers work and not the synth engine itself

[D-Fusion]

Have you tried the MW 1 Factory Bank?
https://gearspace.com/board/electronic- ... largo.html

Nice, thanks for the heads up! These patches are SO much better than the factory Largo presets (and the ones I had programmed). My purchase of Largo for $79 is worth it just so I can make use of these patches. That said, they are still no replacement for the hardware synth which is a lot more vibrant and dynamic sounding.

Your'e welcome
The Largo does have the Waldorf sound but in a different way.
I used to have a Blofeld and tried to recreate the Blofeld sounds i made in Largo but Largo behaved differently and sounds that used the Bass boost in Blofeld wasn't possible in Largo.
The Largo Bass Boost is too mushy and Boomy while in Blofeld it was more defined and didn't Squash the low end.

Loved the Blofeld but the built in Effects where crap compared to largo's effects.

[chk071]

A few weeks ago I made a deal with a (nice) guy and eventually we talked synths and he thought Blofeld's sound was phat and ballsy, unlike software synths.

And that's also the case with Largo. A nice change to all those "soft" sounding soft synths.

So, yeah, not sure what the OP is smoking.

[chk071]

Have you tried the MW 1 Factory Bank?
https://gearspace.com/board/electronic- ... largo.html

Nice, thanks for the heads up! These patches are SO much better than the factory Largo presets (and the ones I had programmed). My purchase of Largo for $79 is worth it just so I can make use of these patches. That said, they are still no replacement for the hardware synth which is a lot more vibrant and dynamic sounding.

Your'e welcome
The Largo does have the Waldorf sound but in a different way.
I used to have a Blofeld and tried to recreate the Blofeld sounds i made in Largo but Largo behaved differently and sounds that used the Bass boost in Blofeld wasn't possible in Largo.
The Largo Bass Boost is too mushy and Boomy while in Blofeld it was more defined and didn't Squash the low end.

Loved the Blofeld but the built in Effects where crap compared to largo's effects.

Agree about the bass boost, it's much too much. But, apart from that, Largo and Blofeld sound mostly the same. Largo is a bit brighter, probably due to the typical worse DAC in hardware (or they cut off the top end due to processing power constraints).

Also, IIRC, you can't switch on/off the bass boost in Blofeld, it's always on.

[Gadget Fiend]

A few weeks ago I made a deal with a (nice) guy and eventually we talked synths and he thought Blofeld's sound was phat and ballsy, unlike software synths.

And that's also the case with Largo. A nice change to all those "soft" sounding soft synths.

So, yeah, not sure what the OP is smoking.

I stick by my statement that Waldorf Largo/Blofeld sound awful. There are several wavetable plugins that sound WAY better. Hive 2.0 for one comes to mind.

[imrae]

I find Largo to be a fine software substitute to the Blofeld hardware. You're going to use some EQ anyway, right?

Agree that the presets are a bit odd and have a rather "cold" sound. Actually this was not a big problem for me using the Blofeld in live bands - but then those bands would also have a bass guitar. "Warm/fat" isn't everything.

But if that's what you want, the Blofeld can do the classic synths. It just takes a bit more work; check out the analog voltage demo/soundset.

To be honest the most annoying thing to me about the Blofeld/Largo design is that the levels are all over the place; some of the best sounds come from the tube filter drive but this also drastically bumps the output level compared to patches that don't use it. You can compensate for this with the patch amplifier volume, but a) that's on another page of the Blofeld interface b) on the hardware the overall level is a bit low so you have an incentive to run hot c) it doesn't feel like the stock presets have a very consistent level, so what do you match it to?

[briefcasemanx]

It sounded okay at the time. It's kinda meh now. I bought it for only $29 bucks so I'm not upset with the purchase.